........I had been racing for several years back then, they hosted a 5-K and it was such a Freak Distance, we all signed up for it.......(in the 70's and 80's the races were 10-K or Marathon)

........then we had to beat a TRAIN accross the road about a mile from the start,,,,,,,,the Middle of the Pack got stranded, so I thought I had at least 3rd Place sewed up,NOT,,,,,,never even saw the rabbits that beat me out of it......

.......ran a 22-something........

...(and thought I was Greased Lightning)......

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[http://This message has been edited by tomwhite (edited Jul-26-2007).|http://This message has been edited by tomwhite (edited Jul-26-2007).]

I knew I would finish my first 5K because I was already running longer than that, but what surprised me was that, slow as I was, there were lots of people even slower (of course, most of them were walking, but still....).

I was a college sophomore, who had moved up from the 880 yard and mile from the previous year. I had planned to be a miler, but at the end of indoor had run a couple of pretty good 2 mile races, so they made me into a 5000 runner.

Our first outdoor meet that year was at Central College in Pella, IA. It was cloudy, cool, and blustery. I had no clue what I was doing, and unfortunately neither did the coach who told me to run the same pace as my 2 mile. Went out in 5:00 for the first mile, right behind the leaders, and faded with something like a 5:20 and 5:30, to finish in 16:31. Actually, not a bad debut, but at the time everybody (coach & teamates) said it was pretty poor.

It took another 5 or 6 years to really get to know how to work the 5k, which to this day I think is one of the toughest distances to do well.

Ah, I remember my first 5K quite fondly. (is it bad to say that I actually remember more about this then I do the first time I had sex?? )

I ran for a little over one year when I was 30/31. My co-worker was planning on running Seattle's St. Patrick's Day Run and asked if I'd like to run with her (I had recently split up with my ex and was working out alot, but not running . . . I think she felt sorry for me so wanted to get me out there amongst the masses and do something fun). I said "sure" - BUT, I had never run, so decided 4 wks before the run to start running on the TM at the gym. I could do 2-3 min at first. that's it. I got up to being able to run about 2 miles before the St. Patty's Day Dash and told my friend that I'd likely take a break to walk about half way through and not to wait for me.

Well, imagine my surprise when we are running towards the King Street area of the Alaskan Way viaduct in Seattle (seattle-ites will know where I'm talking about) and she tells me we are close to the finish! I ran the whole thing w/o stopping and had a blast doing it! I think my time was around 37 min, but I could have cared less - I'd been bitten by the bug and couldn't wait to do more!

It was a long time ago. My supervisor in grad school was a marathon runner. I was not a runner and biking to school was pretty much my only exercise. He roped a bunch of us into doing it. It might have been a Terry Fox run, so lots of expectations to join and raise money for cancer research (we did basic research).

Anyway, my hubby and I ran together, and a few memories stand out - having to walk up a huge hill, getting passed by a mentally & physically handicapped runner, and finishing around the same time as the 10K runners. I remember being absolutely astounded that one of my husband's co-workers could run a 5 K in 25 minutes. I thought that was ridiculously fast. And a female co-worker (who ran cross-country in college) finished her 10 K in about 45 minutes. I felt way out of my league, thanks boss!

He also roped me into the 2 to 3 am slot in a 24 hr relay. I am not a night owl and could barely stay awake to go to the relay. It was around a track, monotonous, in the dark, in the pouring rain, and I had to run for an hour. I must have done a lot of walking!

So, not being impressed with this whole running thing, I didn't really do anymore of it for 17 years.

I am still waiting to run my first "real" 5 K as a new-born runner. I used to think my boss and others like him (that ran marathons) as obsessive compulsive types that I could never relate to. Running seemed like the ultimate in a boring painful existence that you could inflict upon yourself. What I didn't yet know about was the endorphins...., or that if you take it slow enough, it is not painful but quite relaxing and enjoyable.

Anyway, I am hoping to run my first "real" 5K around 26-27 minutes. I can't believe I thought 25 minutes was lightening fast for a wiry, fit 26 year old man years ago. I had no clue.

So, I guess this time my confidence level will be high, however, I always still think "gee...what am I doing?" when I see the front row runners run. But it doesn't matter, even in that first primordial 5K, I was out doing something and challenging myself and being a part of the larger human spirit that pervades these events.

I remember. It was in '96, about 2 months after I re-ignited my running love affair. I hadn't run much since high school in the late 70's; getting married and having 2 kids took over my life for about 17 years. I ran it in about 22 minutes, came in second in my age group and that was all it took to fire up my competive side. I recall it was pure and utter hell, too, so not quite sure why I ever wanted to do it again.

A girlfriend started running and looked great, so I asked her what her secret was.. she said RUNNING. So, I followed in her footsteps. I remember CLEARLY the first time I ran 1 mile without stopping, I was estatic! That feeling alone kept me wanting more (I started running just a block at a time, reaching 1 mile was huge). She signed up for a 5K and asked if I wanted to do it with her. I wasn't up to 3 miles yet, but I said OK. I remember walking much of the course but people were still at the finish line when I crossed at around 48 minutes. I felt good for finishing and bad for not being able to run the entire distance, so I kept training so I could finish a 5K without stopping. I did a lot of 5K's and 10K's with her for a few years, I had a blast with her. Unfortuantely, we are no longer friends, I do miss her.